Visions of Sugarplums
by pandorabox82
Summary: JJ and Emily come to realise something about themselves at Rossi's Christmas party.


"I don't think there is enough alcohol in the world to make me forget the sight of Penelope and Reid kissing under the mistletoe. Those two are too much like siblings to even be thinking about making out like that!"

JJ laughed as she shook her head. "Em, alcohol was the reason why they were kissing like that. And you saw who she finagled beneath the mistletoe next, which was a surprise."

"Tara was just as into as Penelope was. There are ways you can let loose at a staff party. Which is probably why Rossi hosts it as his cabin now – there are more bedrooms than you can shake a stick at, but it keeps everyone who was drinking safe."

JJ nodded as she shivered a little, rubbing her hands up and down her arms as they continued to walk around the grounds of Rossi's place. "We could have headed home, you know. Neither of us had that much to drink."

Emily looked at her before shrugging a little. "Did you really want to return home to a cold house?"

"No," she whispered before starting to walk a little faster, strangely hurt by Emily pointing out the obvious to her. The light dusting of snow that they had gotten during the day had actually stuck, and she kicked at it a little as she went along, trying to work out some of her frustration.

A firm hand on her bicep caused her to stop in her tracks, and she looked over at Emily, trying not to frown at the woman. "I didn't mean to upset you. I know that you don't really talk about Will leaving, but…sometimes I open my big mouth before thinking."

"It's okay, I'm not upset with you. I'm just missing my boys this Christmas. I know that it's important for them to know all their family, and that Will is going to come home after spending time in New Orleans, but I still miss Henry and Michael."

"I can only imagine," Emily whispered as she leaned in, resting her forehead against JJ's. "I was just hoping that this would help take you mind off everything and maybe make you smile a little."

She shook her head a little as they both fell silent, and the stillness and coldness of the air seemed to bleed into her enough so that she unconsciously started to drift closer to Emily, her arms closing around her waist as she nuzzled her nose against Emily's cheek. "Maybe I just needed to be with a good friend to help pull me out of this funk," she whispered before kissing the other woman softly. It didn't take long for Emily to respond, kissing back a little more fiercely, her hands gripping JJ's ass tightly as the kiss continued.

"I'm just saying, we've been thinking of reindeer the wrong way for entirely too long."

Hearing Reid's voice coming towards them, JJ giggled and pulled away from Emily quickly, trying to catch her breath as they turned to see Reid and Rossi heading towards them. Or maybe towards the dock, since they had fishing poles in hand. There had to be a story there, but she wasn't certain that she wanted to ask, since that meant they might get talked into fishing with the boys at midnight, too, and she didn't want that. "Race you to the cabin?"

"Sounds like a plan!" She winked at Emily before turning on her heel and booking it in the direction of the cabin. She hadn't planned on the slushy snow being quite as slippery as it was, and took a tumble within fifteen feet of the door.

"Here, let me help you." She looked up into Erin's smiling face and nodded, taking her hand and letting her pull her to her feet. "You and Emily must be freezing! You were out there for so long. I made hot chocolate and put it in front of the fireplace in the main room. If David decides not to freeze his ass off out there, tell him that I went up bed to try and get some sleep."

"Of course, ma'am," she said softly as the three of them traipsed inside. Erin shook her head. "I know, I know! Old habits die hard, though."

"I understand, Jennifer." JJ arched one eyebrow, and Erin just gave a small shrug before covering her mouth as she yawned. It was easy to see the scar John Curtis had left her, but JJ forced herself not to focus on that, but instead on the older woman's face. There was a peace there that had only just been emerging before Curtis had tried to kill her, and JJ found that she wore that peace much better than the cold aloofness that had been her hallmark when she was leading the BAU. "I really need to get my sleep. I'll see you both in the morning?"

"Yes, Erin," Emily softly replied before reaching out and tenderly touching her shoulder. "And Mother said that she still wants to have Boxing Day dinner with you and Dave."

"Oh, perfect. We haven't been able to catch up with Elizabeth since I came home. Thank you, Emily." Erin gave them a full smile before moving past them and heading towards the stairs.

Once JJ was certain Erin was out of earshot, she tugged Emily closer to her side and gave her a small smile. "She's friends with your mother?"

"Yeah, they've always ran in the same circles. That should have clued me in to the fact that she wasn't really dead, you know. Mother didn't come home for her funeral, just like she didn't come home for mine. Being an ambassador allows for certain liberties." JJ nodded as she led Emily into the main room and over to the fireplace. True to her word, there was a tray with mugs of hot chocolate along with a bowl of marshmallows and a jar of sprinkles. "This is adorable."

"It is." JJ laughed a little as she sank down to the floor and picked up the mug closest to her, dropping in a handful of marshmallows as she leaned back against the couch, staring at the fire unseeingly. Emily took a seat next to her, resting her head on JJ's shoulder as they again let silence fall lightly over them. JJ didn't know how much time had passed, only that it startled both of them when Rossi and Reid cam stamping into the main room.

"Is everyone already asleep?" Rossi asked, sounding slightly less drunk than he had earlier, and JJ looked up at him, blinking a little as she tried to focus in on his face. "Jen?"

"Sorry, we may have become lost in thought here. Your lover went up to bed without you, saying that she needed to sleep, if she's to make breakfast for us all in the morning. Of course, you could get up early and do that for her."

"I'd do anything for her, Jen." A daffy, lovesick, expression spread across his face, and JJ sighed a little to see it. "Well, I'll head up to bed then, see you all in the morning."

She nodded absently, watching as the men left the room. "I think that we should follow after them. Somehow I don't think that we're going to be awake for much longer down here."

Emily smiled as she nodded, getting to her feet and holding out her hand to JJ. After she'd taken hold of it, Emily tugged her to her feet and JJ used the momentum to end up close to Emily, her arms closing around her waist as she nuzzled her nose into the crook of her neck. "You can't possibly expect me to carry you upstairs."

JJ giggled as she shrugged a little. "You could put your strength training to good use. And I'm light as a feather."

"Maybe an emu feather," Emily teased as she twisted around in JJ's arms, hooking her arm around her waist as well as they started for the stairs. "Come on, let's get you into bed."

Somehow, they managed to stumble up the stairs, and JJ yawned as she stumbled over to her bed, plopping down on it as she peeled off her sweater and t-shirt, not caring that she was soon just in her bra. Emily blushed a little as she turned her head, and JJ let out a little scoff. "We've seen each other in less, Em."

"Well, not after kissing, Jayje. That seems to make things a little different."

She shrugged and patted the mattress, encouraging Emily to join her. It took a moment, but she finally the woman traipsed over to her side and took a seat near the head of the bed, about as far away as she could possibly get while still being in proximity to JJ. "That was just a little kiss, Em. It doesn't have to mean anything if you don't want it to."

"And if I do?"

The quick reply took her aback, and JJ sighed a little as she unclasped her bra and stood as she pulled it off, heading over to her bag and pulling out an old, oversized, t-shirt to put on. "Well, then, we'll just have to explore where things take us. Merry Christmas, Emily."

"Merry Christmas, Jayje," Emily replied as JJ came back to the bed and stretched out on the mattress, slinging an arm around Emily's waist and pulled her close as she yawned deeply, finally feeling back on an even keel after so many months adrift.


End file.
